Field of the Invention
This relates generally to devices for enhancing electrical safety. More specifically it relates to testing electrical safety with devices and methods that can wirelessly communicate with a computer.
Description of Related Art
The electrical industry today is far more advanced than when electricity was made widely available during the 1920's. Newer construction is protected by both national and state electrical codes, and licensing procedures. Code inspections make the industry much safer than in prior generations. Certification bodies, such as Underwriter's Laboratories, test equipment and device for electrical safety and list electrical equipment that has met industry standards.
Nevertheless, faulty or defective electrical wiring, overloaded circuits, and improper fail-safes continue to pose substantial hazards. For example, the U.S. Fire Administration (“USFA”) estimates that electrical problems account for more than 26,000 residential electrical fires each year in the US alone. Many of those electrical fires can be traced to old or improper wiring, receptacles, switches, light fixtures, and extension and appliance cords placed under rugs or high traffic areas, poor maintenance and overloaded circuits. Over half of such fires are attributed to wiring problems. The damage to property (e.g. from fire, loss of use, and even water damage from triggered sprinklers) amounts to billions of dollars yearly, while the harm to people (e.g. shocks, burns, electrocution) is incalculable. USFA estimates almost 300 deaths and over 1000 fire-related injuries occur each year as result of these fires.
It is also compelling to note that compared to fires that have a nonelectrical cause, residential fires caused by electrical problems are actually much worse in terms of both injuries and property loss. The dollar losses for electrical fires are more than double those for nonelectrical fires. Deaths are almost 70% increased in electrical fires.
There are many groups and individuals concerned with improving electrical safety, including code-setting bodies, code-enforcing bodies, licensing bodies, testing and certifying bodies, code-enforcement officials, electrical contractors and engineers, licensed electricians, home inspectors, first responders (e.g. firefighters), insurers, property owners, and residents. Currently there is much communication and cooperation between many of these groups, however, often the property owners and/or residents do not play an active role in electrical safety.
Many electrical fires/deaths could be prevented by providing homeowners with basic education on electrical theory, and instruction on maintenance and repair. Basic concepts and practical (applied) electrical terms such as ‘open ground’, ‘open neutral’, ‘open hot’, ‘reverse polarity’ are not well understood. Moreover, it is difficult to convince many homeowners or residents of the importance of checking for problems and monitoring for electrical safety issues. The situation is quite similar with commercial property owners and tenants.
In addition, one of the keys to electrical safety is testing equipment or tools. Many tools for electrical testing exist in today's market, such as tools to determine if wiring is correct, receptacle testers, contact and non-contact voltage detectors, continuity testers and multimeters or the like. Unfortunately, while the tools have gotten easier to use in some cases, they can still be very difficult to understand or interpret even for the skilled professional. At the very least the homeowner would ideally have tools for testing wiring, circuits, receptacles and outlets, lighting fixtures, power cords, switches, and charging cords, adapters, and devices for electronics gadgets.
There is an ongoing need for devices and systems that can improve electrical safety.